Artistic Things and Castling Kings
by Gui Zhang
Summary: When Cyborg becomes interested in a certain game, he slowly falls into a twisted adventure. With one step at a time, Cyborg ends 1998 with a few friends and a lot of style.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Please read this chapter to the end before deciding on what you think of it. :D **

**Chapter 1**

It was a nice sunny day in Jump City when two teens were playing a favorite car racing video game of theirs.

Their fingers pushing the buttons with quick speed, they tried their hardest to beat each other.

"Oh you're going down Robin!" A green teen said.

"Oh no! Not this time!" Came his friend's reply. "I'm way ahead of you now!"

"Not for long!"

Their eyes were glued to the huge TV, which was turned up to the maximum in volume. But the two friends didn't seem to notice because they just kept on yelling at each other. And laughing with the each other until their stomachs hurt, but recovering fast enough to take control of their car.

***

Cyborg typed a phrase and clicked search. He had been trying to have a peaceful work session on his laptop, but it seemed impossible when living in the Titans Tower.

He had tried to ignore the yells and sounds of cars crashing from the living room, but it just seemed to be getting louder. The worst sounds that were annoying him were the ones that were the most often sounded during the race in the video game; tires squealing against the floor.

Every time he'd hear it he would feel a twinge of annoyance. But he turned his attention to the internet page was on.

He moved his mouse to a link on the page but right as he was about to click it, a very loud honking sound was made, accompanied by a very eardrum-shattering sound. And he accidentally clicked an add.

_That's it! _He thought to himself. He got up and carried his laptop muttering under his breath.

When he got to the main room, the doors made a soft _swoosh_ing sound as they opened. But with this soft relaxing sound came the high irritating one of tires squealing against the floor.

Cyborg's human and both robotic eye came to rest on his two friends, now cheering at the sight of their two cars racing side by side at top speed.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Beast Boy yelled at the TV, now standing on his feet, his eyes growing wide with excitement.

Robin joined him at his side, feeling the same wild excitement and yelling at his car to go faster, as if it was actually alive.

Cyborg held on to his laptop tighter and hopped over the now empty couch. He landed on his white boots and got behind them.

"Um, guys?" He asked, peeking his head in the space that was between their heads.

"Yeah?" They asked together over the sound of one of the cars in the race crashing into a wall and exploding, still deeply immersed into the exhilarating feeling that the game always gave it's players.

"TURN DOWN THE VOLUME!!!!!" He yelled. Surprisingly loud enough for them to hear over the pounding noise of the TV.

They slowly turned their heads to look at their friend with their eyes wide and mouths opened, and Robin slowly clicked a button while still staring at Cyborg.

"Ok." The dark haired leader said, before making eye contact with Beast Boy and bursting into uncontrollable laughter. They rolled on the floor clutching their sides, tears rolling down their faces.

Cyborg shook his head and left the room to his still laughing teammates.

Muttering to himself he went into Starfire's room, thinking he could work peacefully in there. The half-robot teen heard the swooshing sound the doors made when they opened.

"Hey, Star." He said, waving his hand in salutation.

Starfire looked up from what she was doing and her face lit up with happiness upon realization of who had entered her room.

"Friend Cyborg!" She exclaimed. "Would you like to sit down?" She said, moving many papers and clearing space. This caught Cyborg's attention.

"You draw?" He asked her, intrigued.

"What is the meaning of that word?"

"Well, it's like when you... Um..." He looked at the ceiling of her room trying to find a way to explain it to her. "It's like... Er… No wait that's not right." He thought some more.

"Oh the heck with this!" He said, opening his laptop and going to Google.

He quickly typed "define: drawing".

He clicked the first result at the top of the page and waited until the page loaded. He then read out;

An illustration that is drawn by hand. But he didn't think that was enough to make her understand completely. So he read another one.

"The creation of artistic pictures." He said.

"Oh, thank you friend Cyborg for teaching me this new word. Would you like to see some of my artistic creations that were drawn by hand?"

Cyborg gave a little chuckle, "Sure." He put the laptop aside and gave Starfire his full attention. Until, after a while, he started to get a bit drowsy. The pictures kept going on and on and on.

"Um, I have to go now." He said slowly, trying to say it in a way that wouldn't make her feel bad.

But instead, she stayed happy, like she always did. "Ok, I hope you visit again soon. I will continue my drawings."

"Ok, bye." He said as he left. But as he got out, he heard the same noises that had caused him to come to where he was. The loud noises from the main room seemed to have become even louder than before.

He walked farther away from the main room, he needed to find a place to do his work. He walked by looking for a good place, but nothing seemed good enough.

And then he reached Raven's room and walked by faster.

_I choose life_, he said. Thinking Raven would kill him. She had a strict policy of "Raven only" in her room. But even though she allowed no one, he stopped at her door. Knowing that something bad could happen he walked forward and the doors swished open.

But before he could register the inside of Raven's room a big dark blue force field materialized in front of him. It happened so quickly, his whole body flinched. Well, his human body.

And as if that wasn't enough, sharp blue spikes came on Cyborg's side of the wall. But he saw a pair of eyes looking at him, and the deadly-looking spikes returned into the wall, and the wall dissolved into nothing.

Cyborg slowly walked into her room, knowing the possible consequences of his actions.

"Oh, it's you." She sat on her bed, placed in the corner. Which was even more darker than the rest of the room.

"Who else would it be?" Cyborg asked her.

"Beast Boy."

"Hahahahaha. Good one Raven." He said, laughing at what he thought was a joke. But as he saw her emotionless face, his laughter died.

"Oh, so you weren't joking..."

"What do you want Cyborg?" She asked him flatly.

"Well, I know this might sound _crazy_..."She stared at him with a blank face."But I was just wondering if I could, um," he lifted up his laptop, "work here?"

"_What?"_

Seeing the look on her face his heart beat faster. "Yeah, you're right," he said quickly, "it was a stupid idea, I shouldn't have even came and bothe-

He stopped talking when something behind her caught his eye.

"Hey, what's that?" He said.

"What?"

"That, behind you." He said, pointing at something behind her.

"Nothing... Now what were you saying?"

"Raven, what are you hiding from me? Come on, you can trust me, you know I'd never tell any secret of yours."

"I'm not hiding anything!" She said.

Cyborg had never seen Raven like this, he became even more determined to see what she was hiding from him.

He stared at her face, trying to detect any sign of emotion. But she stayed the same, except her eyes darted around her room and her hands pushed whatever was behind her farther into the corner of her bed and room.

Understanding dawned on his face. "Ohhhhhhh, I see!" He exclaimed, "It's a diary isn't it?" He couldn't control a laugh.

"_Dear Diary,Today, Beast Boy annoyed me, I think he wants to impress me!" _He said in a high-pitched girly voice. He laughed hard at his own joke.

Raven, on the other hand, didn't seem to find it funny because as he was laughing, she put a big black dark blue cylinder in his mouth with her powers. When he opened his eyes and saw what his mouth was holding, he took it out and held it in his hands.

"Wow, I never knew I could hold your dark aura thingy." He said.

"You can't." She said as she made it explode without hurting him.

"So it is a diary?" He asked her.

"No."

"Come on." He said, walking towards her bed and putting his laptop gently on the floor.

"Cyborg, _no!" _She said sternly. But it was too late; he was already on her bed, reaching out to put down her arm that was hiding whatever that was behind her.

But she didn't give up, she wrestled with him, trying to get him as far as possible from the thing she was trying so hard to hide.

"Hey! Let go of my-Ow!!" He said as she held on to his arm tightly with her powers and kicked him on his side. "Are you crazy!? That hurts!!"

They wrestled with each other, Cyborg trying to get past her and see whatever was so important to her and Raven trying to get him away. And then, and then!

"Fine I'll show you." She said. She was finally going to let him see whatever she was hiding so much!

"Yes!" He yelled in triumph. Feeling victorious, he raised his arms up and punched the air. And before he could react, Raven quickly pushed him hard on his torso, pushing him off her bed.

"Whoa- whoa- whoa!" He yelled spinning his arms wildly trying to catch his balance. And he fell on back with a loud crash. He had been tricked.

But right after she had pushed him, Raven had lost her own balance, and she fell with him.

"Yes!" He said again. Now he could finally see what there was on her bed. He quickly got up and laid his eyes on- on- on! A few dirty old pieces of, _something _he didn't know, and an old-looking black and white board.

He felt disappointed, he had expected something big-something huge-something dynamically spectacularly amazing!! And it was just some pieces and a wooden board.

Slowly, a look of confusion came upon his face.

"_What _is it?" He asked Raven, who was now up on her feet with a look of rage on her face.

It's _______________......!!!!!!!

**A/N: Anyone wanna guess what it is? I think I got Raven OOC in this chapter but I tried to get her **_**in**_** character as much as I could. Well, I didn't try so hard that I was beginning to sweat or I thought my head would explode, that would have been weird… Anyways hope you'll stick around for the next chapters. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!!! I wish everybody a happy new year and a great year. May your dreams come true. And all that happy stuff. Good-Bye, and see you next year!! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for making you wait if you were. And thanks for reviewing Paramore. =)**

**Chapter 2 of Artistic Things and Castling Kings**

"It's none of your business!!" She yelled furiously.

She held him with her dark powers and threw him out into the hallway. Before he had even fallen to the floor, the doors had closed.

With a crash, Cyborg fell to the floor. "Yowch!" He yelled, as his head hit the wall. He held the area where it hurt with his eyes closed, propped up against the floor.

A whistling Beast Boy turned down the hall where Cyborg was, and as he saw Cyborg in front of Raven's room on the floor, he whistled noticeably louder and walked by. But then he laughed, turning back and pulling his friend up.

"Cyborg!" He shook his head, "Shame on you, you know better than to go into Raven's room."

"Well maybe if you weren't making so much noise, I wouldn't have had to go in there."

"So, what was she doing in there?" Beast Boy asked.

"She was, uh…" Cyborg looked around for a few moments, "reading a book." He finished.

His green friend looked at him quizzically. "Why'd you hesitate?" He asked.

"I didn't hesitate." Cyborg said quickly.

Beast Boy squinted his eyes, looking directly into Cyborg's, trying to see if he was hiding anything. He returned his eyes back to normal and Cyborg slowly sighed, thinking he'd just passed a test.

"I'll be watching you." Beast Boy said, using his index and middle finger to point at his eyes then at Cyborg's.

He walked backwards and turned around a corner. And his head popped out of the corner, making sure nothing had happened after his brief absence, and then went back.

Cyborg looked at the end of the hallway where Beast Boy's head had just disappeared from, with one eyebrow up. He turned around and walked down the hall.

He didn't want to tell Beast Boy what Raven had behind her; after all, she _did_ want to keep it hidden …

***

(At dinner.)

"Can we start now?!" An impatient green teen said, with an outstretched groan.

"Not yet Beast Boy, Raven's not here." Robin said.

They were sitting around their dining table, waiting for a certain dark teammate to show up.

"Yes," Said Starfire, who was sitting beside Robin. "we must wait for our friend Rav-

She was cut off by a yelling Beast Boy; "RAAAVEEENNN!!!! WE'RE STARTING DINNER AND I'M HUNGRY!!!" He had his hands cupped around his mouth.

"Beast Boy!" Said Robin sternly. "You interrupted Starfire and DON'T SCREAM!!"

Starfire just sat between the two, very lost.

Cyborg, on the other side of Starfire, sighed. "I'll go get her." He said, unheard by the two yelling teammates.

"Yes!" said Starfire. "I can show her my artistic creations."

"Uh, sure thing Star, whatever you say." Said Cyborg, who was now at the door.

The walk from the main room to Raven's was a quiet one. Well, not exactly, because you could still hear the voices of two loud teens.

As he got to Raven's door the noise faded away. He stopped and took a deep breath.

"Here goes." He said under his breath.

He walked forward and jumped back, expecting sharp spikes to block the doorway, but, no spikes, he noticed, surprised. He walked in and looked to the corner where Raven had her back to him.

"Um, I'm here to tell you that dinner is starting so, yeah. Dinner is… starting."

She turned around to look at him. "That's not really why you're here, is it?" She asked him.

"It is, it actually i-"

"You came into my room twice today." She said, cutting him off with her emotionless tone.

"Yeah, isn't that funny?" He said. "I didn't even realize that," he slapped his forehead, "haha." But of course he knew. Going into Raven's room wasn't something you did everyday.

"You know Cyborg," She continued, "I think you're forgetting that it is forbidden to enter my room." She said, getting angrier by every word that escaped her mouth.

"All right Raven, now you're really starting to scare me." He said, taking a step back.

"Twice!" She said, anger boiling up inside her, "In one day!"

Before she could say another word, she was interrupted by Cyborg.

His eyes were upon the objects of last time, which were, _just like last time, _behind Raven.

"Wha-?" She said, forgetting her anger and looking back behind her. But he had already started walking toward her bed again.

"Raven, why don't you just tell me what it is? It's been bugging me all day."

"All right fine." She said.

Cyborg instantly became surprised at how fast she gave up. And then to _Raven's _surprise, he put one foot behind the other and closed his eyes tight with his arms in front of him. It looked like he was bracing himself for a collision of some sort.

Raven almost smiled at the sight of Cyborg like this. But she fought it back; "What are you doing?" She asked, forcing her usual tone.

Hearing this, Cyborg brought his arms down and opened his eyes slowly.

He chuckled, "I thought I was gonna be tricked again."

He laughed, and it was surprisingly challenging for Raven not to laugh at this like him.

"So you're really going to show me?" He asked, getting excited with a smile on his face.

"Don't make me change my mind." She said, giving him a stern look.

"Oh, right." He said, trying to look like Raven. (Expressionless.)

She moved aside and let him see the mysterious objects.

He stared at it, not knowing what to say, then he looked at Raven.

"It's called ________."

"Oh…" He said. "What exactly is a _________?"

(A/N: Lol I'm not that mean.)

"Chess is an old game, I'm not sure about its origins, but I know some basics about the game…"

"So it's a game huh…"

"Yeah, there's 64 squares on a chess board" she held up the board and showed him the squares, "and 32 pieces. 16 of these pieces are black, and 16 are white. They're placed at the opposite end of the board. If the white pieces are on this side," she gave him an example, placing the pieces quickly, "like this, then the black pieces," she placed the black pieces, "are over here."

"Wow." he said softly. He was now sitting on her bed while she explained.

"You see, chess is like a game of war, one army on each side, you are the one in control, _you_ control your army, so it depends on _your _skill if you win, or lose. It's a challenging game, you must think twice before you act, or else it will cost you." She said, flicking one of the kings off the board with her finger. "Dearly."

Now Cyborg was really interested, he stared at her. She played with the pieces; she looked as though she was deep in thought over her own words. Clearly, there was more to this game than what meets the eye. Sure, at first sight, it's just a couple of pieces and a board, but when you take time to think about it...

He looked down at a piece and picked it up to examine it. He put his finger around it, he couldn't feel it. He hadn't felt anything for a long time. (His hands were covered with the gloves.) But still, he looked at it closely. It had a round head with a tiny edge that went all around under it.

"How do you use this one?" He asked Raven, holding it up for her to see.

"Well that piece, is a pawn." She said.

"A pawn." He repeated softly.

"That pawn," she took it from him and placed it on one of the squares, "has 7 companions, and they're all placed on the second before last row. Well, there's actually 16 of them. 8 white, and 8 black."

"You can do many things with a pawn, you can promote it, you can use it to capture another piece, you can also...

She went on, explaining the different things you could do with a pawn, and other pieces as well.

In fact, she went on and explained the whole game, and how to play it. When she finished after her long explanation, there was a long silence.

Cyborg just stared at the board which was now carrying all the pieces. They were all placed correctly, looking like two armies face to face, about to start a deadly war.

"That's crazy." He said finally, in amazement.

"That's _chess_." She corrected him with a small grin on her face.

***

(Back at the main room.)

"Awwww, they're never gonna come!!" Beast Boy groaned.

**A/N: Lol they're still waiting for Raven and Cyborg to come eat with them. Well anyways, sorry for not making this any longer, but it seems like the more I write the less words there are. Hehehe, anyways, I hope I didn't destroy a great opportunity to write a nice chapter with this one.**

**So yeah, tell me what you thought of these two chapters or just this chapter. :) ^_^ =D :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm really sorry for making you wait, please don't abandon the story. I was just doing some stuff. But I didn't forget about this.**

**Chapter 3 of Artistic Things and Castling Kings**

"That's crazy."

"That's chess… now get out."

Cyborg had almost forgotten who's room he was currently in.

"Huh?"

"You heard me, now get out."

"B-b-but wait! I wanna see how you actually play this game."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He said defensively.

"All right, one game," His face lit up, "one _fast_ game."

"All right, I don't care. Let's play."

For a while, Raven wondered what he was doing when he was looking at the pieces in a funny way and then at the board. But then she understood why. He was new at this.

"I've got the pawns set up."

"I'll place them for you."

"No don't!" He said quickly, stopping her hands from taking the pieces. "I'll remember." He looked at the rooks. "Oh yeah, these go at the corners. And these…" When he finally placed them all, Raven corrected him.

"You misplaced the king and queen. Queen on her color, remember?"

"Do now." He said, switching his king and queen.

"Ok, let's play." He said, feeling excited to start his first chess game. He put out his hand and held a piece, but was stopped by a pale one.

"White starts first." She said.

She put one of her middle pawns two squares forward.

"Bold move Raven, bold move." He said, shaking his head slowly.

"Just play." She said, using her usual tone.

He laughed. The excited blue friend thought about his first move.

"Hmmmmm." He took out a knight and placed it in front of a pawn.

Raven did the same.

He then moved his pawn out in front two squares.

The game went on like this until one of Raven's pieces took one of his.

"Oops, bad move…" He said. These words were one of the few that were spoken during the game as Raven was a very quiet person. But even if Cyborg had been playing with someone else, he wouldn't have talked much because during the middle of the game, he began to concentrate harder.

"I wonder how come I never heard of this game before." He said.

"We live in a tower, away from some common things to average people. There are some things we may not know."

"Then how come I never saw it on TV?"

"You play your usual pointless video game. I fail to see how you would ever stumble upon this."

"So how did you hear about it?"

"I read about it." She moved her queen and took a pawn of his.

"So, since when did you know about this?"

"Enough questions," she said with her tone, "it's your turn."

"All right, all right, I'm moving…"

Cyborg was a beginner at chess, but Raven was surprised that he was doing ok for a first time. But she didn't tell him so. She just kept her silence and a hand supporting her head as she leaned in to look down on the board.

The pieces were scattered all a round, as if an army would be on a field. The funny thing Cyborg noticed was that just by looking, you could see who's army was advancing and who's was staying back, trying to defend rather than attack.

She drummed her fingers impatiently and looked up at him.

So he moved one of his rooks, and took her second bishop. For a brief moment, she was surprised, but she hid it well because Cyborg didn't seem to notice anything.

_No way am I going to lose against a newbie._ She thought to herself, now focusing even harder on the game. She thought about her next move carefully, thinking about everything that could happen. She paid special attention to her queen.

She had lost her bishop, she had forgotten about it all hidden away in the corner. She was focusing around the center of the board where she thought everything was happening.

The game went on like that. At the end, Raven was still surprised that Cyborg was this good for a beginner. But like she had expected, she had won. She felt… "happy?" for finally playing against someone and for winning. But she didn't show it.

Cyborg sat there and just stared at the finishing picture. He couldn't believe it, he could have prevented that. If only he'd paid attention to his king! It had been trapped in the area it was meant to be safe in. He had castled at the beginning of the game just like Raven had showed him to, but he had forgotten to make sure that his king would have an escape route.

It was behind three pawns, all aligned in single form horizontally. And it had nowhere to go, well, it did have someplace to go, but that place was covered by a rook.

"Checkmate." She said.

"Yeah." He said softly. "Now it's my turn." He said quickly, placing the pieces now even faster than he had the first time.

Before she could even refuse, he had moved his white pawn two squares up. She sighed, "_One _more game."

_2 hours 26 minutes and 4 games later_

Raven's eyes drooped. But with a little jolt, they opened. But her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier and heavier by the minute.

"Come on Raven! It's your turn."

"I know. I need to meditate. We've been playing for hours."

He looked at her with no expression.

"_Hours_."

He still looked at her the same way.

"HOURS!" She finally yelled. Trying to get her point across. But he still looked at her like nothing had changed. She gave up and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She tried to meditate right there.

_Azera-_

"Really?" Cyborg's voice said, interrupting her, my right arm says differently.

She opened her eyes to a still awakened Cyborg. He was staring at his right arm where his time must have been set up.

"My computers tell me that we've been playing this –fascinating – game for 1 hour and 27 minutessssssssssssssssss now!" He said, telling her the exact moment they'd reached 27.

"The point is..." her eyes closed, "we've been playing…" she sighed, "for… a… lo… long… ti…" She never finished that sentence because she fell face-flat right on the chessboard in deep sleep.

"Oh no!!" Cyborg yelled in horror. "How will we finish the chess game?? You fell on the pieces! Raven?... Raven? He didn't realize she was tired enough to fall asleep anywhere.

"Wait a second." He lifted her head slowly. As he lifted it, it came into view, bringing a scene so funny Cyborg had to hold his mouth with one of his gloved hands to stop from laughing.

This was the funniest state he had ever seen his dark friend in. Her mouth was curved upwards as he was pulling her head up, and her eyes closed, making a funny picture. For a second, Cyborg's red eye flashed with a white bright light. He wondered why this happened, but he decided he'd look into it later.

So our friend Cyborg picked up Raven easily and put her down softly and gently correctly on her bed. He had to look around to find the pieces because they had scattered all over Raven's bed when she had fallen on them. But when he found them all, he put them on the board and the board beside her bed.

Well, his job here had been done. He saluted farewell to Raven even though she couldn't see it and turned around to leave. He took a first step and then-

DOOM!

He had tripped on something! And now he was on the floor, staring at the floor, because he had fell on his face.

Behind he could hear stirring and Raven's voice.

"Who's there!?" She said in a stern voice. Then she saw Cyborg getting up.

"Cyborg?" She said, not understanding why he would be there. "What are you doing in my room?!"

_Uh oh._ He thought, _this isn't good._

"Were you looking through my stuff?" She said, getting up. Her eyes flashed bright red.

"No Raven, I swear."

She yelled and threw him out with her powers. For the second time that day – if it was still before midnight, which it probably wasn't – he had been kicked out of Raven's room and had crashed into the wall in front of her door.

"Ouch." Was all he could say.

He got up and dusted himself off, before hearing a _swoosh_ing sound. For a second he actually thought that Raven had come to the door, but it was someone else whose room was quite close by.

Starfire walked out of her room and turned down the corridor where her blue friend had just got up. She was holding several papers that Cyborg guessed were more drawings she had made. He remembered the nice ones he'd saw at her room, like the waterfall and the pond…

"Oh, hello friend Cyborg!" She said, cheerful as always, knocking him out of an internal memory slideshow he was having. "I was going to present my artistic creations to our friend Raven. Is she still awake?"

"Um… I don't know, but I wouldn't go in after what _I_ just did. You should just give her some time to cool off. He showed her an angry looking Raven as an example.

Starfire giggled. "Oh you are being silly."

"But Star, I seriously recommend that you –"

"Do not worry, our friend will forgive you for whatever shameful act you have commited. I will now go to meet her."

"Shameful act?" He repeated, he shrugged it off and as she got in he tried to stop her. But she assured him once more and refused to listen.

Oh well, he thought, maybe she'll have more luck than I did.

_In Cyborg's room_

As Cyborg was plugging in a cable into himself for a recharge that he'd been waiting for, he heard a scream and a bang against a wall. Oh well, guess she didn't succeed.

**A/N: Yeah I know, it was terrible wasn't it? Oh man I don't know what I was thinking. **

**I thought I made the chess part too boring. What do you think? Please tell me. And as for the other parts, I thought I was getting off topic. Ohhh man!!  
:( Please tell me what you think. And sorry for making you wait long. O.o There will be more. (If ppl are interested.)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Midnight Battles

**A/N: So this is the chapter that comes after the last one. (As you very well already know). So… about 10 months later… this is what comes out. The italics are Cyborg's thoughts.**

_In Cyborg's room_

_Well, that was one tough game. _Cyborg thought to himself. _I'll beat her soon though. I'll find out how to be a winner in this game._

For a while he thought about how interesting it was. He thought, and thought. In fact he was thinking too much for too long. He was in his bed trying to sleep but he just didn't seem able to do it. He looked around his room for something to do to pass the time.

_For once I have time to spare and I have nothing I'd like to do._ He thought. Then a cartoon light bulb appeared over his head. (**A/N:** **Like they do in the show**). His laptop! He just had to-  
Whoops, he had forgotten it in Raven's room. He remembered how he had put it on the floor when he wanted to find out what Raven was doing on her bed.

_Yikes! Getting thrown out of Raven's room, (literally), is enough for one night. _He thought. _If it's still the same day._

But just lying there in his room was driving him nuts! He listened to the whir of the computers in his room and wondered if they really would drive him insane. For a moment he remembered about somebody telling him that some repetitive sounds were used to make people mad.

_Cruel_. He thought, sighing and getting out of bed. He stood up and stretched. He slowly walked out of his room and tippy-toed in the hall. He was about to knock on Raven's door when he realized what he was doing and slapped his hand.

_Common sense rules: You __**never **__knock on Raven's door… especially at this time of night._

So he just stood closer and let the automatic doors "woosh" open. He looked around the room and found the usual. Raven was on her bed sleeping and his laptop was waiting for him on the floor. He walked up to it and picked it up quickly, disappearing from her room as fast as he could.

_In Cyborg's room_

Cyborg was sleeping in his bed with his laptop open and just a few inches away from him. He was positioned in an unhealthy way, but who can blame him… after all, we're all human. He was completely horizontal except for his neck and head. He held it up with his right hand.

He was on Google, looking up chess facts for fun and watching some videos on YouTube. By now all the ads were chess related. He watched them. Just yesterday, or today, (he didn't know anymore), he had clicked an ad by accident, thanks to BB and Robin.

"Are you a chess nerd?" Then come play at w w w. make up your own website here. c o m! With over 300 players to interact with and play chess with, you'll enjoy our site.

_300 players? _Cyborg thought. _That doesn't seem like a lot. And I'm not sure about me being a nerd…_

Cyborg looked down at his hands that had already clicked the ad. He had done it unconsciously. The webpage loaded. He scanned it very quickly with his background computers.

"This is a free Multiplayer online Chess game website" was written on the top, with all the rest of the introductory speech.

"Yaddah yadahh yadahh." Cyborg murmured while skipping everything. He scrolled down to the bottom of the page and saw two options. "Sign up for free" or "Log in"

Cyborg's eyes lit up. _Sign up! Sign up! _

_-Whoa, whoa, whoa ,whoa Cyborg! You don't want people sending junk email to your inbox now do you?_

But once again his hands had ignored what his mind was saying. He was now signing up to a website whose name he did not know.

He wrote in his username, password, email… And then he read:

"Before you sign up, it is mandatory that you read the site guidelines." Cyborg snickered and skipped it.

_As if anybody reads that. _Passing all the tiny fine print and capitalized rules and regulations he clicked "Create my very own Chess warri- (Cyborg skipped that to).

"Welcome!" Flashed the screen. At the top on the right, he could see his username that he had just created.

It took just a few minutes to find out how to start his first chess game on the site. He was in what they called a lobby where players could chat and set up a game. He challenged one of them but they declined his offer. This was repeated a couple of times before:

_Gosh, if you don't want to play chess then why are you on here?_

He thought of writing his very first message telling all the losers to beat it. Then his anger slowly subsided and he realized how stupid he was being.

_Now, now, Cy, is that what you want to show as your first impression? _He asked himself.

When he finally got challenged by someone else he jumped on his laptop, clicking accept as if he didn't do it in a second the Universe would explode. After clicking it, it took a few seconds to load before his screen was filled with a table. Since it was new to him, Cyborg looked at the way the game table was designed.

The chess board was in the middle while the options and controls were on the right and left. At the bottom left was a "give up" and a "offer draw" button.

_Never gonna give up… _

The pieces were just as usual, black and white, while the board was brown and beige. Cyborg could have adjusted the color of the board had he wanted to but he just wanted to play the game. (For soooo long)!

He clicked his pawn and moved it 2 squares forward.

n00b5destroyer: 'sup?

Cyborg looked down at a box he hadn't noticed before, it was a chat log!

He typed in "hi." But after a while erased it, thinking it was too simple. He had to make a good impression. "yo." He wrote. But once again he erased that to.

He stared at the chat log for a moment and another light bulb flashed again.

He got busy typing in his response. He had thought of something smart to say as a chess player.

TheKnightofRight: Teen on her stroller!

…

n00b5destroyer: ?

It took a while for our hero to realize what he had written. If you could see it on his face Cyborg was blushing furiously. This was definitely an embarrassing moment he would remember for the rest of his life. He slapped his face.

_Cyborg you idiot!_ _It's "queen on her color" not "teen on her stroller". What a great first impression… _He thought miserably.

TheKnightofRight: my bad… nvm.

n00b5destroyer: it's your turn

After this little conversation things were quiet and they played without any talking.

Cyborg's interest for the game resurfaced and he played even harder than he had against Raven. Before he moved, he made sure to analyze every area of the board. He moved his chess pieces carefully and wisely. A single error could turn the game around and cost him his victory, as he had soon realized.

In the end, while the last chess pieces traveled around the board, things were getting pretty tense. Cyborg worried about every move he made. He played furiously. He battled with a warrior's loyal heart defending his country, as if every chess piece was a part of him, protecting something larger.

And then, he began to corner his opponent's king. His heart began to race with excitement. Would this be it? His first victory?

_Just a little bit more… That's it… _He thought, as he slowly manipulated his enemy king into a corner. It would soon be a checkmate. He could already taste the victory. Just one more move, and then…

"Your opponent has quit the game. The game has ended in a draw."

"WHAT THE BLOODY H*LL?" Cyborg yelled out loud, forgetting that it was now well past midnight and almost throwing his laptop across his room.

**A/N: And that's a wrap for this chapter. I hope you found it as funny as I did when I was writing it. Thanks for the review, crazy veers, it means a lot to me. And of course, to all my reviewers. : ) :D ^^**

**I couldn't have done it without you guys! *wipes a tear away* I'll never forget you. *kisses index and middle finger and raises them up to the crowds***

**Whoops, sorta got carried away there! Please tell me what you thought. :D**


	5. The sweet arrival of SugarPlum

**A/N: Sorry, I tried to update as fast as possible, (if you were waiting), but with things always piling up… You know how it is. (Btw, I DO NOT believe that war is a good thing. Just making sure).  
So anyways:**

"WHAT THE BLOODY H*LL?" Cyborg yelled out loudly, shattering the silence of the night. Before he had even fully realized what he had done, a paranoid Robin burst through Cyborg's doors with his staff at the ready.

"All right bring it on punks! It may be 4 am but Robins don't sleep!"

"What about Beast Boys?" Asked a sleepy green titan, with a cartoon sleepy hat on his head. He yawned with the might of a whale and struggled to open his eyes.

Cyborg put the laptop away and got out of his bed.

"Whoops." Cyborg said, trying to repair the damage. "I guess I must have had a nightmare." He said.

"The only nightmare here is Slade," Said Robin, eyeing Cyborg's room suspiciously. He paced the room carefully with a fighting stance.

"Robin I'm pretty sure Slade's not here," Cyborg said, "if he was, I'd make him pay rent!" He added to calm Robin.

Cyborg tried to usher the anti-villain hero out of his room but he wouldn't budge.

"Wait a second… Why are you so eager to get me out of here?" asked Robin, looking at the many computers. He turned around and looked up at Cyborg.

"You're Slade aren't you?" whispered Robin, sounding like an actor in a dramatic scene of a movie.

Cyborg slapped his forehead in frustration. He placed a broad gloved hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin looked at it with narrowed eyes.

"I swear Robin, if I have to, I will literally pick you up and haul you all the way out of my room."

"I'd like to see you try Slade! I see you've chosen a new wardrobe!" Robin was now convinced that Cyborg was Slade.

By now Raven was at the door passing a green elephant that was sleeping on it's legs. Beast Boy had tried his best to remain awake but he couldn't.

She looked at Beast Boy. "I thought you said you were 'beast' at staying up late." No one noticed her little joke.

"What's going on here?" Raven asked with her usual tone.

"Slade's invaded Cybo-"

"Slade is not here!" Cyborg yelled, pushing everybody out of his room. Raven stayed behind as the door closed.

"What were you doing?" She asked him.

"Huh?"

"You know, what were you doing before Robin came? I sensed a lot of anticipation for good coming from your room. It woke me up."

Cyborg had forgotten that Raven was an empath.

"I was just waiting for Christmas and New Year's! It's October, just a little while before 1999. And then one more year and happy new millennium!"

"That's a good lie." Said Raven. "But it's obvious that that's not what you were waiting for."

"I wasn't looking forward to anything, ok?" Cyborg said while escorting her out. "Now please get out and come again!" He spoke like Apu from the Simpsons.

He sighed and fell on his bed.

"_What a night."_

***The next day***

He sipped his coffee and looked outside a large window. He was sitting in the middle of a busy internet café. He looked at the street just outside and watched as people rushed everywhere. It was a Saturday but everybody seemed to have something to do.

Sitting in the café, he knew that he was getting a lot of stares from people. He knew why this was happening. It wasn't a normal thing to see a half-man in a café. Knowing that this would revive a lot of painful emotions, he turned his focus on other things.

He looked back at his laptop that was sitting in front of him on a low table. He looked at his Chess Stats:

4 games played

2 games won

50% of games won

A few hours ago he had logged on to find out that the website administrators had fixed a certain issue after receiving a few complaints. Some users had grown tired of players exiting the game just before they were about to lose. Cyborg considered himself unlucky. If only they had fixed that problem before his first game.

He went back to the lobby to find at least 30 players all chatting.

He challenged someone and waited for their reply.

The table loaded and he was now starting another game.

Chessm4starr101: hi

Cyborg noticed how his opponent had said "hi" so quickly.

Ignoring it, he replied with a greeting.

Just as soon as he had clicked enter on his reply, chess4starr101 blurted out:

Chessm4starr101: your turn!

Cyborg began to plan his offensive strategies, reflecting on the lessons he had gathered from his previous games. He slowly inched his army forward, eliminating 2 pawns on his way.

Chessm4starr101: nice move!

TheKnightofRight: thx

Chessm4starr101: you're welcome

"_What the…" _Cyborg thought. "_How does he type so fast?"_ Cyborg had just finished typing when chessm4starr would reply.

As the game progressed and the chess pieces fell one after the other, Cyborg tried to concentrate harder. But it was a bit difficult over the chatter of the café's customers. Someone laughed in the background.

Chessm4starr101: I like chess

TheKnightofRight: yeah me to

Chessm4starr101: where did you learn to play it?

TheKnightofRight: a friend taught me

Cyborg turned his attention back towards the game.

Chessm4starr101: I learned by myself, they say you learn a lot more when you teach yourself

TheKnightofRight: yeah…

Cyborg tried to give chessm4starr a hint that he didn't want to talk at the moment. But chessm4ster couldn't stop. He had somehow turned the 1 way conversation to his favorite tv shows.

Chessm4starr101: omg did you see the last episode it was so cool!

TheKnightofRight: no…

Chessm4starr: and Kevin was all like

Cyborg tried to stop the conversation by not replying anymore, but this only made the problem worse.

Chessm4starr: are you still there? Hello?

The talk kept going, it evolved into the subject of astronomy, and then gossip, (even though Cyborg knew none of chessm4starr101's friends), and then to psychology.

Cyborg wondered whether chessm4starr101 was trying to psychologically drive him nuts with his talking.  
He would have left but he wanted a bigger win percentage. But he couldn't exit the game without giving up the game. (Thanks to the new upgrade to the site.) Cyborg groaned and tried his best to tell the kid to shut up.

"_You're not called TheKnightofRight for nothing Cyborg." _ He thought. Pulling back his hands from what they were about to write. Anything with at least 5 swearwords in it…

Finally_, finally, _after a whole game of struggling with a chatter box and dangling on his last circuit/nerve, he won the game. Halfway through he had the considered the option of giving up.

He remembered his words, _"I'll never give up" , _but he hadn't met chessm4starr101 yet.

Moving on, he played 2 more players, one of which was very good. After a long and hard match, he went to the lobby just to be in the lobby, to take a break and relax. Watching all the players come in and go out, starting matches, chatting, he realized what he was doing. He was interacting with people from all over the world. Even if it was a small website with a 300 players, these were _people._

Real people out there in the real world. People he might never meet, who are a combination of their own, thoughts, interests, personality. These were beings… He looked up absent-mindedly out the window and saw clouds. He stared at them. He just sat there, in the middle of a buzzing and loud café, just thinking, amazed at all that was around him. He'd never thought of a human that way, a sum of many emotions and feelings, capable of hurting and restoring.

He looked at the people around him, and just observed, like he never had before. He watched people as they engaged in conversations, as they laughed, ate, drank. He felt pretty awkward, what was hefeeling? He looked back up at the blue sky with just a few clouds and thought of the billions of people that inhabited the earth. He felt so small… But at the same time big, able to impact and change the world in his own special way. His thoughts just wandered around, until they came to Jump City.

"_Maybe there are players in Jump." _He thought. He went to the filter area of the lobby very doubtfully. With only 300 players, it was highly unlikely that anybody would be there. But to his surprise, there were at least 5. But only 2 were online at the moment.

He clicked one of them, shaking out of his deep sea of his 7th game of the day, he wondered what his opponent would be like.

swordsofjustice: hey

TheKnightofRight: yo

They played normally, adding some comments every now and then. In the middle of the game:

Swordsofjustice: *sigh* I've been playing for 6 hours straight now

TheKnightofRight: I've been playing for half the time you have

Swordsofjustice: *groan* (he added a frustrated smiley face), it's the weekend stop trying to make me do math X(

TheKnightofRight: lol :P

Cyborg attacked one of the tense areas of the board with his knight, which triggered an enormous conflict. Each chess piece ate the next as they all focused on that one area. Finally Cyborg managed to fool his opponent and capture his queen.

Swordsofjustice: you're good

TheKnightofRight: thx

TheKnightofRight: there aren't many people on this site are there?

Swordsofjustice: no

TheKnightofRight: only 300 ppl? What is this?

Swordsofjustice: THIS! IS! SPARTA! *kicks into hole *

TheKnightofRight: hahaha you saw that movie?

Swordsofjustice: yup it was great! ^^

TheKnightofRight: I know!

Cyborg remembered when he saw it with everybody at home. He had to cover Starfire's eyes with his hands during the whole movie.

"Friend, why are they doing the "battle of strength"?" She asked him with her sweet voice.

"No reason Star, it's just a movie." He tried to assure her, trying to catch all the fighting scenes.

Cyborg's mind returned to the chess game. He fought furiously, and in the end, he won again.

Swordsofjustice: hail the victor! :) good game

TheKnightofRight: haha thx

Swordsofjustice: add me

TheKnightofRight: how?

Swordsofjustice: just double-click m' name

TheKnightofRight: ah I see

Swordsofjustice: btw, I'm right behind you

TheKnightofRight: huh?

TheKnightofRight: oh right, "those" jokes

Cyborg thought of all the times he would be on the internet and he would just find someone writing that they were right behind you just to scare you. But they were just trying to creep you out.

Swordsofjustice: no seriously, I'm right behind you

Knowing that he would feel silly in the future, Cyborg turned around and saw a 15 year old kid giving him a thumbs up. He was a few tables down the Café, his laptop sitting behind him on a table.

Swordsofjustice: good coffee, huh?

TheKnightofRight: :p

***Later***

Sitting in the common room at the T tower, Cyborg was playing chess again. Beast Boy was sitting on his left, playing his favorite video game with Robin again. Starfire was on one of the stools drawing, while Raven was sitting beside her reading in a lotus position.

Beast Boy and Robin were talking and having fun.

" I can't wait for 1999."

"Yeah, me to..." Robin eyed Cyborg suspiciously. The half-man didn't have to look up to know.

"I'm not Slade Robin." Cyborg muttered, not taking his eyes of his laptop screen, he had just won another game.

Everybody laughed, even Raven's lips curved a millimeter. She had now come to sit as the Cyborg got off the couch and headed towards his room.

"Cy! Where the heck are you going?" Beast Boy said. "We were just about to watch a movie."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go to my room and do some stuff…"

"Awwww, boooooo. Don't be a party pooper!"

Cyborg just chuckled and left the common room. He was walking down the hall when to his surprise, the door opened again. Raven was walking behind him. He looked at her and decided to ignore this. He turned around and kept walking his path. And then the door opened again. This time to a green titan with a smug little smile.

Cyborg thought this was really awkward and kept walking to his room. Then the door opened again_, _with the last two titans coming out of the common room.

The half-man half-machine decided to just play dumb and act like nothing was happening. Upon his arrival, the doors opened up for him and closed after he had entered. He sat on his bed and opened up his laptop.

Then the doors opened up and revealed 4 teenage friends bursting into his room. They all laughed hysterically. Cyborg couldn't help but smiling.

"What are you guys doing in my room?"

They just kept laughing hard.

"Well as team leader, I suggested that if you didn't come to the party, the party would come to you." Robin said.

Starfire took a cd and put it into Cyborg's computer.

"Come friends, let us watch the movie together and enjoy each other's company."

They all jumped on Cyborg's bed and got comfortable, waiting for the movie to start. The computer that was just beside Cyborg's bed was now playing the trailers that came before the movie.

Beast Boy took out a cartoon popcorn out of nowhere.

The atmosphere was now very friendly. They were all lying on his bed, laughing and talking while Beast Boy complained about the number of ads.

Finally when the movie started they were all quiet. Cyborg still had his laptop in front of him, and he was still playing Chess.

Raven, who was beside him, stared at the screen.

"What have I created?" She said.

"A disturbance in the cinema. Shhh!" Robin motioned for her to be silent. They turned their attention back to the movie.

Cyborg was now back in the lobby. He set up the filter to show only players in Jump City.

"_Good ole Jump City."_

As part of the Teen Titans, Cyborg felt proud, to be a protective angel of the huge city. Even though the citizens would look at him like just a machine, or some sort of freak, he still wanted to protect Jump City, he still cared for it. But he hadn't guarded it by himself, he had some help. He turned toward his friends that were lying on his bed, watching the movie attentively.

He remembered all the times he fought beside his friends, saving the city again and again.  
Sure the Titans had their times… but they appreciated each other, and they would always stick with each other… until they were old and gray-haired. They would be great legends and heroes.

Cyborg observed his friends as they watched the movie. The lights were off and everybody was looking at the computer screen. He watched them as they shared popcorn and reacted to the movie. Raven took the bowl and pushed it to Cyborg, offering him some.

He took some and she turned away. For a second, when he looked at them, he saw his family and friends. And he realized how important they were to him.

"_I'm really getting emotional today…" _He thought, chuckling very silently.

He scanned the players very quickly. Only one out of five players was online.

He challenged him and the table loaded up as usual.

SugarPlum: The two armies stand facing each other. Two countries, two enemies, two opposing forces. They stare each other out, a fierce glare being shot in every direction. The wind howls in the background, unheard by the furious soldiers, ready to stand up for their territory, for their homeland, their pride. Ready to _fight_!  
The wind blew hard against every single soldier, but it was only felt by one.  
In the middle of the field, noticed again by only one out of thousands on the field, falls a single pure snowy, light, Sugar Plum.  
The war has begun.

Cyborg just looked at the chat log. Somewhere, deep inside him, he knew that his opponent was not like others, that there was something special about him.

He looked at his friends on his bed and back at his laptop screen. He decided to play along his opponent's game.

TheKnightofRight: "Prepare for battle!" the general bellowed at his army. He paced in front of them, turning his horse this way and that. The danger of the war now found its way into the hearts of Leap's soldiers. (Cyborg decided to give his army the name of "leap"). Their horses snorted.  
And at once, they charged. Just like the chill that ran down their spine, they ran down the field with battle cries exploding out of their mouths, accompanied by the sound of thunderous hooves pounding against the ground. The air was now filled with anticipation and excitement.  
_This meant war._  
Running alongside allies, the hearts of Leap's soldiers was filled with courage and determination.

That being said, (or written), Cyborg advanced his pawn forward. To his surprise, the movie that was being watched in his room started to play a dramatic kind of music. The only thing this did to Cyborg was make the battle more vivid in his mind. SugarPlum countered his move with his own pawn, meeting him at the middle of the board.

SugarPlum: Leap's soldiers were now charging at the enemy's army. But the A4's were not afraid. They sped across to meet them leaning forward on their majestic horses. The beat of a drum playing in every particle of their minds. It's rhythm pounding through their veins. They raised up their swords and shields and yelled out their own special battle cries, together, as one pack.  
With every landing of their horse's leg, and spring, their heart jumped. The impact would soon be there.

Our teenage superhero didn't feel the same way about the chess game he was playing with SugarPlum as he did with his other games. He had now gotten the image of a huge war playing out. He needed to plan his attacks wisely, and defend his troops from the onslaught of the brave A4's, because it seemed so real, as if he cared for his soldiers.

The A4's seemed powerful and strong … Cyborg noted.

"_No! Don't start thinking that way. That's what he wants you to think. Don't allow him to convince you into believing he's better at this game than you are… It's all in the head Cyborg… It's all in the head…"_

Cyborg sensed that someone was watching him and looked beside him.

"You mind?" Raven asked him.

"Sorry." He smiled, a bit embarrassed. He had forgotten that Raven was capable of feeling other people's emotions.

She turned back to the movie and Cyborg back to his game.

Everybody laughed a couple of times while watching the movie. But Cyborg's attention would not stay off the task at hand.

He and SugarPlum were now in the middle of the game, and Cyborg was losing. He was losing all his pieces, one by one. His king would soon be in checkmate. Before he had finished his thought, Cyborg's king was in a corner, about to be checkmated.

SugarPlum: The A4's general had now located The leap's king. He focused on him and ordered all units to trap him. Trap him until there was no escape.  
The Knights of A4 leaped over enemy soldiers and sped to TheKnightofRight's King. They trapped him in a corner. He knocked the king hard down on the floor.

Cyborg knew he was losing. But he wasn't about to let some kid in Jump City defeat him this way.

"_Fiction is fiction. There can be two authors in one book."_

TheKnightofRight: One of the leap's brave archers hid behind a boulder and loaded his bow with an arrow. With the light of speed, he shot at the Knight that was cornering the leap's King. The arrows sped at the Knight's head.

SugarPlum: Only to be blocked off by his shield that had been raised at the last moment.

"_Darn it!"_

Cyborg was now moments away from being checkmated.

SugarPlum: The Knight took out a single silver arrow and loaded his bow. Before the leap army's king could even react, the Knight let go of the arrow and shot…

Not at the King's head, but at the ground just next to it.

He got off his horse and stretched out his hand to the King's.

"Draw?" Asked the Knight.

"Draw?" The website's chess table indicated that Cyborg's opponent was offering a draw.

TheKnightofRight: You can't do that. Armies would have no mercy on their enemies.

SugarPlum: This is fiction, our imagination. We can do anything we please.

Cyborg accepted. He decided to continue their little game.

TheKnightofRight: The leap's King took the Knight's hand. Getting up, he shook the Knight's hand. This represented a draw.

SugarPlum: They looked at each other for a while. The knight gave him a little smile. It was little, but it was noticed by the King.

The A4's left the battle ground in peace.

"SugarPlum has left the table."

Cyborg just stared at the screen for a while. Then he smiled.

"_Sweeeet!"_

**A/N: I do not believe that war is a good thing. And I'm definitely not saying that I like it.**

**Omg you don't know how much times I had to edit thislike crazy! So if you see some mistakes or repetitive parts, or just some sentences that don't make sense that's because in the end I got so annoyed and tired of editing it to make it perfect that I just published it already. *takes a deep breath* My that was a long sentence. But I don't care cause I'm through with editing! **

**If you didn't notice, when the Knight was leaping over the soldiers, that was suppose to resemble a real chess knight, (in the real game), jumping over pawns and other pieces. Sorry it took so long.  
Tell me exactly how you feel about this.  
If there's something that you think I can improve on in the story, tell me about it. Don't feel like you have to be nice to me. Just be honest. Now don't get me wrong! I'm not asking you to flame. Just say what you want. :D ^^ :) :P :D**


	6. STARting to study Stars

**A/N: I haven't updated for a while... Once again, sorry about that. But it's been on my mind!**

Cyborg closed his eyes… And opened them up again in a flash as several cars exploded just beside him. He ran past them as fast as he could. Light beams were shooting at him one after another. He ran and ran, trying to avoid them as much as possible.

He sped up and jumped into the air, turning around completely with his sonic cannon at the ready. For a second, time froze. He was just a few feet off the ground. His eyes narrowed and time unfroze. Before he had even touched the cold hard ground, dangerous, powerful Sonic energy erupted from his arm. He slid on the cold hard ground and quickly recovered by rolling himself up on his feet. He quickly looked at his attacker. had just dodged it at the last minute. He hopped off a hot dog stand and charged at Cyborg, with his arms bent and his hands open beside his waist. Blinding light conjured itself up from his palms.

Cyborg didn't even need to move, Raven landed in front of him and produced a full thick shield in front of them as the Light attack zoomed at them. It crashed with the shield with amazing force. The impact shook Raven's arms and made her groan. The light continued it's path on the street, the only thing that was breaking it was the dark blue force field.

It was a normal day in Jump City, except that there was a villain oppressing the city again. Well, maybe that was a normal thing after all. Cyborg and the rest of the Teen Titans were in the middle of the busiest street. They were struggled to bring down another criminal. He had apparently attempted to rob a bank. Robin landed on his feet beside them, his eyes inspecting their target. Without a word, he brought out his bo staff. No words were needed here.

The street was now filled with blinding light. Dr Light laughed at the chaos he had created. He cackled with laughter, his head back and his arms upraised. He had assumed that victory was his. But he was wrong, Starfire soared over his head and bombarded him with green star bolts.  
She got him right on the head, knocking him down on his butt. His electric suit buzzed, yellow sparks flew everywhere around him. Robin seized this chance and ran up to meet him. Before he had even gotten up the Teen Titans leader flew at him with a flying knee kick. After receiving this blow, Dr. Light was sprawled out with his face into the ground. Robin turned him around cautiously. But it was a big mistake cause he was blasted about 50 feet away from where he was. Well, that's all that Cyborg and Raven could see from where they were.

Cyborg charged at Dr. Light with one red eye flashing bright red. He picked up a car as if it was nothing and spun around with it in his hands. He let go after he had gained enough power. Dr. Light just blasted the car, creating a huge hole in the body of the vehicle. But it was just a trick. Cyborg leaped through the middle of the car and punched Dr. Lights head as hard as he could. Dr. Light was knocked out into his living day_lights. _Cyborg rose up from his stance with satisfaction. It was over, once again.

Just like usual, it took a while for the citizens to get over the shock. Sure it was very normal for things like this to occur in Jump City, a maniac with powers and a villain with a mask now and then. But still, it was a nerve racking thing to see the city be damaged in a Titan's battle.

***_In the Titans Tower***_

The titans sat down in front of their huge tv and relaxed. Robin, however, got up and went to the ceiling- to-floor windows. He just stood there and watched. He saw more than just skyscrapers and buildings and bustling people in a city. His friends remained quiet, they recognized this behavior as a caring hero.

"The city is safe, but for how long?"

Beast Boy pushed himself up from the couch and walked over to Robin. He looked at Robin's hard face and at the city. He thought about how much Robin worried, and he couldn`t take it anymore, so he just said:

"Robin… We all know how much you care. We care to. But you can't keep stressing yourself out 24/7 about things being all right. We may be super-heroes, but we can't keep everybody safe their whole lives. And even if we did, what kind of life would that be?"

"Huh." Was all Robin said.

"That's it." Beast Boy said. He morphed into a gorilla and roared. This made Robin jump with surprise. Beast Boy picked Robin up with the collar of his shirt and slammed him down on the couch.

The green titan who was now in human form sat down beside him and handed him a video game controller.

"We're playing SuperSmash Racing Lite until your brain isn't capable of thinking or worrying anymore."

"I'm sure _that's _healthy for him." Raven said.

"Did I detect a note of sarcasm in there?" Beast Boy asked her.

"Of course not Beast Boy." Raven said sarcastically.

"Ok."

Raven slapped her forehead.

"What is wrong friend Raven?" Asked Starfire.

"Nothing's wrong Star."

"What's nothing Raven?"

"Nothing." Beast Boy said simply.

"Yes that is the word I want to learn about."

Cyborg chuckled at the confusion that was spreading itself in the Titans midst.

"Friend Cyborg why are you laughing?" Asked Starfire. "Is something funny?"

"Nah, it's nothing Star."

"Nothing? Who or what is a nothing?" Asked Starfire, who was now getting frustrated.

Robin and Beast Boy couldn't help but laughing at this point. Cyborg wondered whether or not Starfire was playing along to make everybody laugh.

"Ok let's play a game." Suggested Raven. "You're not allowed to say 'nothing', ok?"

"Ok." Everybody chorused.

The room was quiet for a while. The only sound that was heard was the screeching of wheels against asphalt. (In the video game). Cyborg tried to ignore this. He whipped out a cartoon laptop out of nowhere and started to type away furiously.

"Oh no, not again!" Raven groaned.

"What?" Asked Cyborg, innocently.

"You haven't put that thing down for hours!" Raven said, looking at the laptop.

"That's what she said!" Beast Boy laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Raven yelled, slapping Beast Boy hard on the back of his head. Who was laughing out loud with Robin.

"What does that mean Raven?" Asked Starfire.

"Nothing, Star."

"Raven, you just lost the game. You said nothing."

Starfire then got off the couch and put her hands together. "Friends, we must 'cheer up' our friend Raven as much as possible. She must be going through a stage of grief at this moment because she has lost the game."

Raven just sighed and put her palm on her forehead.

Robin and Beast Boy were crying from laughter.

Raven looked helplessly toward Cyborg. He tried to look back at her with a straight face but was unable. She glared at him and punched him on the human part of his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked.

"Nothing." Raven said, getting up to get a book.

"Friend Raven you just said the forbidden wo-" Starfire was interrupted by the sound of hard laughter coming from Beast Boy and Robin, their virtual cars were now trying to drive through a wall. Cyborg was about to laugh.

It was now the beginning of November, and Christmas was almost there. It was night time outside and all you could see inside the Titans Tower was a group of friends laughing their butts off. It was another day in the Titans Tower.

***_Later***_

Raven sat down on the couch with a book in her hands. Every once in a while she would flip the pages. The room was quiet again, to her convenience. Cyborg sat at her right, with his laptop in front of him, playing Chess again.

Starfire sat on her left, she had her legs curled up under her as she was drawing. She seemed really interested in her drawing. But only Cyborg would notice this when he looked up every once in a while. Robin and Beast Boy were lying on the floor comfortably, looking up at the huge screen. They tapped away at the controllers.

Cyborg placed his Queen in front of the opposing King.

"_Once again, the leap's are victorius!" _Cyborg thought.

"The who's?" Asked Raven, not taking her eyes of the book.

"Er... The nobody's."

Cyborg smiled to himself. He checked his stats. He was getting better and better. He had a few comments on his page now, from friends and people that he didn't know. He had a few hater comments on his page but he didn't let that bother him.

He went back to the lobby and played a few games, until he stumbled upon something. It was SugarPluM. He wanted to talk to him again, so he challenged him.

"Challenging player" The website informed him.

The table loaded and the game began. Cyborg moved his pawn forward like he always did. The feeling of the chess game was different this time. SugarPluM didn't play with Cyborg's imagination. It felt like any other chess game.

SugarPlum: hi

TheKnightofRight: hi

The game progressed.

Robin and Beast Boy had started to talk. But this was unnoticed to Cyborg because he was so deeply immersed in the game. But this didn't stop his curiosity.

TheKnigtofRight: so did your army throw a celebration party when they got home?

Cyborg submitted his reply and continued the game. SugarPluM didn't say anything for a while, which made Cyborg think that he didn't want to talk.

SugarPluM: huh?

TheKnightofRight: you know, we had a war last time, a fictional war

Cyborg moved his bishop to protect it from SugarPluM's queen.

SugarPluM: I'm not sure I know what you're talking about…

The teenage superhero checked his opponent's name. Just to be sure it was the same person he'd played against before.

TheKnightofRight: you talked to me just a few days ago, in October

SugarPluM: sorry, it's not ringing a bell

TheKnightofRight: r u sure?

SugarPluM: maybe it was someone else

Silence…

TheKnightofRight: oh I see what's going on here

He ate one of SugarPluM's pieces with his pawn.

TheKnightofRight: you're playing a joke on meh…

SugarPluM: I'm not playin' a joke on yeh… :P

TheKnightofRight: r u making mock of me? :3 why I am outraged and downright insulted!

SugarPluM: :P

TheKnightofRight: are you excited for 1999?

SugarPluM: what is there to b excited for?

TheKnightofRight: well… you know… the new millennium that'll come after that

SugarPluM: and why exactly is that something to rejoice for? That simply reminds us that we've spent over 2000 years on this planet. and we don't have an answer for why we are here

Cyborg thought about this for a while.

TheKnightofRight: huh

SugarPluM: what do you mean 'huh'?

TheKnightofRight: nothing, I just had to think about what you believe

SugarPluM: I never said I believed what I said

TheKnightofRight: then why exactly would you say it?

SugarPluM: does there have to be a reason for everything?

Silence…

TheKnightofRight: is there supposed to be a hidden meaning in that sentence?

SugarPluM: what do you think?

TheKnightofRight: I dunno…

SugarPluM: what do you want?

TheKnightofRight: what do you mean?

SugarPluM: you know what I mean. what do you want in life to be happy?

TheKnightofRight: I have to say, you're a bit different than other players

SugarPluM: how so? :)

TheKnightofRight: I've played several games here, and nobody's asked me something like that.

TheKnightofRight: I mean, it's not everyday that someone asks you a personal question like that, not only that, but you're asking me that over the internet. I mean, I don't even know you

SugarPluM: you don't know me, maybe that's the best part…

Cyborg looked at SugarPluM's reply and wondered what this meant. Was he guilty of any crime?

TheKnightofRight: What's that supposed to mean?

SugarPluM: Maybe that's the best part because you can say all you want to say without the fear of me judging you or making fun of you or using anything you say against you. It would be different if you knew me, you'd be afraid of telling me things. But when you don't know me, it's a no strings attached deal/conversation. You don't have to deal with the consequences because I'm somebody else, somewhere way away from where you are. So I can't do any damage

Cyborg studied this little miniature speech. He tossed it around in his mind.

TheKnightofRight: so you expect me to reveal a part of my mind just because I don't know you?

SugarPluM: well think about it, you can have a free conversation with someone without any consequences to deal with in the future. I'm just another player in another website somewhere else  
even if I wanted to know who you were because of what you'd said, how would I finf you

TheKnightofRight: I get what you're saying, but it just doesn't seem that smart.  
I'm a guy that's a bit interested in computers and the internet and stuff. But the point is, I've heard of many ppl losing their privacy because they idiotically put things that they shouldn't have out there on the internet.

TheKnightofRight: I mean, what's to stop you from taking this conversation and somehow putting it everywhere on the internet

Cyborg didn't bother to watch his spelling, he was just chatting, not writing a letter to somebody important.

SugarPluM: so you think I'm gonna somehow hurt you if you trust me and 'reveal' parts of your mind that you don't share with anybody else? You think I'm going to 'backstab' you in some way

TheKnightofRight: sort of, but it sounds stupid when you say it like that

SugarPluM: and what exactly would I gain from that?

TheKnightofRight: I dunno, ppl do it

SugarPluM: why?

TheKnightofRight: how the heck should I know?

SugarPluM: sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry

TheKnightofRight: don't worry, i'm not angry. I don't have a short fuse anyway

SugarPluM: so you have a long fuse?

TheKnightofRight: that's what she said!

Cyborg looked at the chat log, expecting a reply. But no reply came. He wondered whether or not he should have said that. He continued to stare at it, but nothing came, not even 'lol'.

About 20 seconds later, SugarPluM's reply came.

SugarPluM: omg, if you could see me… omg! I was rolling on the floor laughing so hard. I could barely get back up on my chair to type something 2 u. hahaha

Cyborg felt as if a heavy weight was taken off of his shoulders. He sighed in relief and smiled. He was happy his opponent wasn't mad or offended by him. He didn't know why but somewhere deep inside him, he had a feeling that if he lost SugarPluM he had lost something special. Things wouldn't be the same without SugarPluM for the night to turn out right.

TheKnightofRight: :)

SugarPluM: oh man I'm never gonna forget this nite!

TheKnightofRight: that's what she said!

_***Elsewhere***_

SugarPluM was once again rolling around hard on the ground. The online chess player clutched it's side. SugarPluM wiped tears away and laughed some more, getting up to sit on the rolling chair in front of the computer. This was a hard thing to do when your sides hurt.

SugarPluM's roommate looked at the online player. (The online player is SugarPluM, who is playing chess with Cyborg).

"Do you mind?" The roommate said, typing away at his laptop.

SugarPluM resumed the chess game with Cyborg.

SugarPluM: lol. You're really killing me here, gimme a chance to breath before you do it again

TheKnightofRight: that's what she said!

SugarPluM once again laughed loudly.

SugarPluM: STOP! STOP! Let my heart breathe for a couple of seconds, k? I'm having trouble breathing you know

TheKnightofRight: once again, that's what she said!

***_Back in the Titans Tower***_

Cyborg smiled at the computer. He was making someone's day. He'd always loved making people laugh. He beamed so much his face seemed to shine.

SugarPluM: you know how much times I fell on the ground during this chess game?

TheKnightofRight: :)

SugarPluM: I still can't stop laughing.

After this, the game kept moving on until SugarPluM cornered Cyborg's king and won.

SugarPluM: good game

TheKnightofRight: yeah :)

SugarPluM: c u around KnightofRight

TheKnightofRight: yeah u 2 SugarPluM

SugarPluM: :)

"SugarPluM has left the game"

Cyborg was still smiling. He was playing around with the settings of the gametable. He somehow ended up rereading the chat log. He wondered how their conversation shifted directions. Cyborg looked at the beginning. He scrolled up and down the small chat window, looking at how they started talking.

He looked one final time at SugarPluM's screen name and logged out. He shut down his laptop and shut it.

He put it down on the kitchen counter and went to the windows. The half-man teenager stared at the shining city under the night sky. There were a couple stars in the dark blue blanket that seemed to cover Jump City. He looked at them and smiled.

He noticed how there were so little stars in the sky. They were all miracles. Had he just stumbled upon one?

Starfire flew up behind him and hovered horizontally above his head. She pressed her hands against the cold glass, looking down at him.

"What bothers you, daawwg?" She asked, trying to imitate 'dawg'.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Nothing's bothering me, Star."

"Friend Cyborg you just said the forbidden wo-"

Once again, Cyborg heard a series of laughter.

**A/N: I've always found writing/reading battle scenes in fanfiction was fun. It's cool to let the author narrate the fight in their own way and then let the reader take it into their own mind and translate it into the way they see it. Sort of like computers, you know?**

**Well I have to say this was the most-fun-to-write chapter out of the whole story up until now. There's still more to come imaginative fanfictionists! *chuckles and thinks about future plans***


	7. It's Plumming!

**A****/N: Might seem as if nothing's happening at the beginning but trust me, this story's going somewhere.**

It was quiet in the Titans Tower. It was so peaceful, there was absolutely no activity going on. The Titans were snoozing in their beds, all enjoying their own dreams. They were resting themselves, dozing off into hibernation. How good it was to calm down into such a nice, peaceful state, to sink your head in a welcoming and soft pillow. (Gui Zhang drifts off to sleep. His imagination continues the story).

Outside, it was a chilly day; the wind was blowing in all directions, blowing leaves on the deserted streets.

Back in the Titans Tower, a sleepy green titan woke up slowly and laid his head properly on his pillow. He looked up at the ceiling unconsciously. He was just lying there in silence for a while before he began to realize that there was some music playing in the distance. He looked around him searching for the source. He looked into the corner of his room and saw his radio. The volume was turned way down low, (which is a rare occurrence). He rose up out of the bed and went to the bathroom slowly. 10 minutes later he was walking himself to the living room. It was a while before a scream was heard throughout the tower.

"GGGGRRRRR!" Cyborg groaned and slapped his face groggily. He jumped out of bed and yawned.

"Coming guys!" He said. He ran to the living room and the doors opened as he entered. All he could see through his cybernetic eye was a red Beast Boy shrieking like a girl at a Justin Bieber convention.

Beast Boy was there in front of the windows with his mouth wide open.

"It's snowing!" Beast Boy said, turning to Cyborg who was standing beside him.

Cyborg, still in his sleepy state said: "Let's go guys, we have to stop whatever's happening. (He yawns with his eyes closed). Who does evil stuff at this time anyway?"

Beast Boy transformed himself into a snow leopard and roared at Cyborg. His choice of animal was appropriate in many ways. For one thing, it woke up Cyborg up so suddenly it was as if he was seeing clearly for the first time that day. He then saw the large snowflakes twirling and flying everywhere. He too shrieked excitedly.  
He dramatically took the leopards shoulders and yelled:

"BEAST BOY IT'S SNOWING! BOO YAH!" This being said he started a full blown dance waving his arms around him with his eyes closed and a smile on his lips.

"Baby I like it! I-I-I like it!"

Raven appeared behind them and sighed. "Is Slade in the tower again?" She asked.

They turned around to look at her.

She looked at Cyborg's arm. It had transformed into a huge sonic cannon again.

"Woops, must have happened when I came here. Guess I subconsciously thought about danger."

Robin and Starfire ran into the room.

In the end, they were all pressing themselves against the cold glass watching the snow drop down on the city.

They were all admiring the joyful scenery playing itself out before them. It gave them a collective feeling. They couldn't quite explain it, which made it even better. Noticed only to Raven, various objects were exploding around the room because of her emotions.

"Wait 1/60th of a minute!" Starfire said. "I know exactly what will make this an even more memorable moment in the memory files of our brains in the future." She shot out of the room. A few seconds later she came back with a radio on her shoulder. She had entered Beast Boy's room. The volume was turned up to the maximum. She put it on the couch and joined them next to the window again.

They couldn't help but smiling. The addition of music added to the feeling. They all plopped down on the couch. Cyborg placed himself in the kitchen, letting the music inspire him with the breakfast he was about to create.

While the gang was watching cartoons, Cyborg and Starfire cooked up a storm of pancakes. And with that, they added hot chocolate.

***_Later***_

After having a big breakfast, the Titans disbanded, except for Cyborg and Starfire. She took a little table and set it up in front of the windows. Cyborg was sitting down on the couch watching tv. After going through the channels 5 times, he turned to the radio instead and tried to find a good station. He turned that off to and walked over to Starfire.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked her.

"Friend Cyborg, although I am familiar with the term "mind", I am confused at the sense of the word you intend to use in your communication with me. Raven has told me that when are meditating we are in a certain way minding our-"

"Starfire, I was asking if it was ok if I sat here."

"Of course it is ok!"

Cyborg sat beside her and watched the scenery. The sky was grey and airplanes would pass every now and then. The rooftops of buildings were covered in snow. They were quiet for a while.

"You know Star, they say that every single Snowflake is unique. Not one of them is identical."

"Yes, I've heard of this." She said. She was now eating a glorphlorax, a famous dessert where she came from.

"Would you like to taste?" She asked him.

Cyborg didn't know what to do. He was absolutely certain that it would taste horrible.

"I think I'll ski-"

"Marvelous, friend Cyborg!" She interrupted him. She took a huge and dangerous looking knife and sliced through her glorphlorax. She let him take the piece and watched his reaction. A glorphlorax was a cream filled… object. It had colorful bits here and there and had an irregular shape.

Cyborg hesitantly took a bite, bracing himself for the horrible taste of... "Pure heaven!" He said.

Starfire's eyes lit up. "Do you enjoy it's taste, friend?" She asked.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Cyborg said dramatically, taking more bites of the piece she gave him.

A very muffled "That's what she said!" came from Beast Boy's room.

Cyborg ignored this and turned to Starfire. He ate the small remains of the glorphlorax that were still on his gloved fingers.

"What did you say this was?" He asked her.

"Back home, we call it glorphlorax."

"And in Cyborg's mouth we call it precious gold." Cyborg said, his eyes closed with delight. (Sort of like this: ^_^)

"This has certainly been a nice day, hasn't it?" asked Starfire, looking up at the grey clouds.

Cyborg looked at up at them to. "It certainly has Star."

"What can we do to appreciate this moment even more?" Starfire said.

They both shrugged and simultaneously took out their own things. Starfire had her sketch book and Cyborg had his laptop. They put it out on the table and began to do their thing.

Cyborg logged in to his website and started to play chess. Eventually, he ran into SugarPluM in the lobby again.

SugarPluM: so we meet again TheKnight

TheKnightofRight: I guess so

SugarPluM: let me take you once again to that dimension you long for. let me take you away from the busy lobby and its loud players.

Cyborg knew SugarPluM was talking about the other players who were chatting with each other. Before anybody could express their anger, Cyborg challenged SugarPluM. The teenage titan's 3rd time opponent accepted and they entered a private table.

SugarPluM: the two armies faced each other again… at the biggest party in town! They stood outside and waited for the show to begin. All eyes were on the stage

There was a festive mood and the knights had their helmets under their arms as a sign of peace. They raised their other arms as a salute to the artists that would soon come on to play their music.

TheKnightofRight: so you _are _that person who I played with at the beginning, with A4`s and the Leaps

Why was he confusing him so much?

SugarPluM: yes I am

SugarPluM: the show was about to start when… To everybody's surprise, a light pink feather flew right in a knight's coca cola drink. this did not surprise the knight, for he knew things that no other knight knew

TheKnightofRight: what's a sugarplum

SugarPluM: (shh! don't interrupt) In a matter of seconds, hundreds of thousands sugarplums were falling through the air, all falling down on the heads and shoulders of the two armies soldiers. So slowly, they were so light and tender.  
The soldiers looked up mouths wide open, hoping to catch one.

TheKnightofRight: what the heck is a sugarplum?

SugarPluM: a blue one swayed its way right into a lucky soldiers mouth. Instantly the sweet taste of it's sweet sugar flooded through the soldiers tongue. His heart leapt with joy. His tongue was now covered with blue ink-like liquid. It was the plum's juice, gushing out in every direction in his mouth. He closed his eyes and savoured the taste. He let the feeling of such perfection drive him to the ground.

A strange feeling of joy and mysteriousness had found its way onto the mass of soldiers. For some reason, every single knight wanted nothing else but to be happy. They didn't care about anything, they just let the new taste melt in their mouth, in their minds, in their very lives_._

Cyborg just looked at his laptop screen. He didn't know what to think, he _didn't _think. He just savored.

**A****/N: …**


	8. LIFE'S really is GOOD

**A****/N: Ok so here comes the next chapter. You've probably figured this out by now but this part of the story is mainly dialogue. So I hope you won't find things too boring… (There will be grammatical errors and times when the story won't make sense even after editing).**

**Disclaimer: I couldn't come up with a witty remark so I'll just go for the original. I do not own the Teen Titans. (But I guess that does count as a witty remark).**

He finally snapped out of his trance and typed in

TheKnightofRight: You have one heck of an imagination don't you?

SugarPluM: I enjoy playing with it

TheKnightofRight: maybe you should be a writer

SugarPluM: maybe, but for all I know, I could be a character myself

TheKnightofRight: ?

SugarPluM: well, what if we were nothing more than just fictional characters? What if we were under the control of a bigger person out there

Cyborg took his laptop and sat down on the couch.

TheKnightofRight: I'm listening

SugarPluM: well what if we were just a part of somebody's imagination?

Cyborg's heart skipped a beat.

TheKnightofRight: whaaa?

SugarPluM: you heard me, what if we were just well-defined characters for someone out there?

TheKnightofRight: out where exactly?

SugarPluM: in another bigger world who knows, maybe our whole universe grew from the imagination of a little boy, and as he grew older, he decided to create and shape up everything inside it.

TheKnightofRight: all right now Sugar, you're seriously starting to scare me. There have been many theories in the past about life and the outer realm, but yours is starting to get to me.  
But on the other hand, I kno that i shouldn't get all worked up about it because it's just a part of your imagination, and God knows you imagine too much. I mean, where exactly is the universe then? In the kid's mind?

SugarPluM: lol. you called me Sugar. sure, it's in the kid's mind, why not

TheKnightofRight: well this is smthing! You get my heart all jumped up and now you sit back and relax huh?

SugarPluM: that's what she said!

TheKnightofRight: and now you're even joking about it!

SugarPluM: :P

TheKnightofRight: all right wise guy, I'll think of something good for you, something so creepy…

Cyborg, for once, was actually concentrating more on the conversation rather than the game. SugarPluM always got his attention. The way he talked always made Cyborg confused. Maybe it was a sort of strategy, because Cyborg was really losing badly.

TheKnightofRight: hmmm…. I'm thinking…

SugarPluM: i'm listening

Cyborg looked out at the sky. It was well into the night time now, but he had his mind on other things. He looked around unconsciously, looking at the radio and remote control on the couch. He turned to his left and noticed Starfire's sketchbook.

"_Starfire!" _He hadn't noticed it but she had left a long time ago… without her drawings. He picked them up and looked at them.  
Page after page he was stunned. They were all… well, just scribbles. Even though they were all just scribble-like drawings to him, he paused on one of them. He wanted to understand what Starfire was trying to express.  
He focused on the light lines spread around the page. It seemed to be a group of people… sitting. They were looking at something off the page. Who were these people? It put a new curiosity in him.

He put the sketchbook beside him and looked at the chat log. He quickly moved one of his pieces.  
He scrolled up the chat log and reread SugarPluM's imaginary army get-together.

TheKnightofRight: who was the knight that wasn't surprised?

SugarPluM: is that your creepy thing?

TheKnightofRight: no, it's just a question

SugarPluM: that knight was me

…

…

…

TheKnightofRight: how come you weren't surprised?

SugarPluM: because I knew they were coming,

TheKnightofRight: you knew that feathers would be falling from the sky?

SugarPluM: they're more than just feathers

TheKnightofRight: then what are they?

SugarPluM: they are my signature, and my pride. they're a part of who I am, and a creation of my mind.

TheKnightofRight: and what about the knight in the war who noticed the feather

SugarPluM: the knight who noticed the SugarPluM was me to

…

TheKnightofRight: you have a mighty good imagination you know that?

SugarPluM: is that supposed to be offensive towards me?

TheKnightofRight: of course not

SugarPluM: ok, good. *puts sword back in sheath*

TheKnightofRight: lol

TheKnightofRight: well now that I have some good background information… What if I placed my thumb and index finger on the lobe of your ear and slowly pulled out your imagination?

SugarPluM: you'd have a lot to pull out, and if you did, I'd probably lose my mind

TheKnightofRight: so does that scare you?

SugarPluM: I have to be honest. so yes it does scare me

TheKnightofRight: yes I did it! from now on I shall be called the Knight of _fright_!

SugarPluM: lol

SugarPluM: what if your friends were fictional?

TheKnightofRight: whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Can we slow down a bit here?

SugarPluM: that's what she said!

TheKnightofRight: how come you know I have friends

SugarPluM: well come on, I'm sure a funny guy like you has friends, :)

SugarPluM: you don't actually think I stalk you do you? I mean I've only followed you twice and taken a _few _ pictures of you walking in the park but that doesn't count does it?

TheKnightofRight: i don't know whether to laugh or be scared

SugarPluM: laugh. don't be scared

TheKnightofRight: ok

TheKnightofRight: now that I look at that again, is there a deeper meaning there?

SugarPluM: what do you think?

TheKnightofRight: it depends on how you take it, and who you are

SugarPluM: how do you take it, and who are you?

TheKnightofRight: i take it in a way that says: live life with joy, and don't set limits up for yourself, be who you are and be who you wanna be, don't stop yourself because of fear of getting hurt

Cyborg wondered whether or not he should send that. What if he quit the game because he thought his reply was weird?

"_Victor Stone, didn't you just say to not limit yourself, or to not be afraid of getting hurt?"_ He was torn, he didn't know what to say. He clicked enter and waited.

SugarPluM: that's what I meant, in my own special way

TheKnightofRight: but life doesn't always give you something to be happy about, the way that I see it, it's always unfair and painful

SugarPluM: the way _I_ see it, we have our own choices. you can either choose to be happy or sad. sure you might get a mosquito bite, but it's up to you to decide whether that experience was good or bad. if you look at it in an optimistic way, then you won't be so unhappy.

TheKnightofRight: yeah

The living room was silent, and the only sound that was heard was the laptop's whir. He thought about what his opponent had said: "You choose to be happy or sad." Was this the truth? Is this the key to happiness. He looked around the room unconsciously, just thinking. He wasn't really there when he started to see a face. He realized where he was seeing it. It was the T.V's remote. It was the Life's Good logo. Except to Cyborg, at that moment, it looked more like a face, _his _face. Cyborg saw much more than just a "L" inside a "G". He saw his own face, he saw his prison, he saw his past, present, and his dreadful future. And he saw technology, not life. Not the life he wanted. This new surprise gave him a little unpleasant ride. He could sense his usual thoughts coming back. But he pushed them away, he wouldn't let anything ruin his day. But maybe a bit of his frustration was leaking when he said:

TheKnightofRight: I don't think you understand what I'm saying, you can't always be happy. what are you supposed to do when something alters your life forever, it strikes your heart so hard that it feels like it's cutting it in half. what about ppl that go through those things

SugarPluM: I still believe in what I said, the truth is joyful and not painful

TheKnightofRight: prove it.

These two words seemed to have added weight to the conversation, making it more tense and revealing just a hint of Cyborg's bitterness to SugarPluM. He looked at his hands and fingers when he typed. Seeing those gloved hands just kept reminding him of what he was trapped in, a life as heavy as the metal on his back.

SugarPluM: Are you angry?

TheKnightofRight: no

SugarPluM: well, just look around you. tell me what you see

TheKnightofRight: a couch

SugarPluM; something else

TheKnightofRight: nature

SugarPluM: of course! nature

SugarPluM: just look at nature, look at the voice of the earth as it sings

TheKnightofRight: and destroys the lives of thousands?

SugarPluM: no

TheKnightofRight: sorry that was uncalled for

SugarPluM: that's ok

SugarPluM: if you just take time to look at it, it's so…

TheKnightofRight: peaceful?

SugarPluM: sort of but that's not what I was looking for

SugarPluM: ok then, I guess that was a bad example… look at music!

TheKnightofRight: yeah, what about it

SugarPluM: if you just spent time with it, and listened to it dance. you would know that I'm right.  
Music is the key to creativity, and the portal to imagination. It's what motivates me to close my eyes and simply _be_ my own private universe, where I can do anything I want and express myself.  
have you ever listened to music and thought it was an absolute _masterpiece_. have you ever noticed it's rhythm and it's waves, how it plays with your mind and reaches places in your heart that you never even knew about. how it fills your head with it's beauty and makes your heart beat in sync with it. it's magnificent, it's like millions of waves flowing through your mind in a matter of seconds. it's a breath of fresh air from the next dimension… have you ever noticed?

TheKnightofRight: it's _perfection?_

SugarPluM: yeah

TheKnightofRight: yes I have, in fact I just noticed it this morning. I was just watching the snow falling with some friends and this song came on the radio. it just gave me a feeling of unity and…

TheKnightofRight: it made me feel like I was, closer.

SugarPluM: you see? music even unites us

TheKnightofRight: you mean like when you're at a party and nobody's talking, and then when you turn some music on ppl start socializing?

SugarPluM: more than that. way more than that. when we listen to music, it sort of frees us and lets us say what we want to say. it gives us a certain feeling and a mood. like music is actually one whole song. if you can even categorize music into songs

…

TheKnightofRight: it's like everytime you say something, i have to toss it around in my mind. you have interesting ideas I guess… but what does music have to do with being happy and not being happy in life

SugarPluM: what i'm trying to say here is that sometimes, when we look hard enough, we can see the goodness of life. and when we do, it feels like life is happy by default and sometimes sad because we make it.

TheKnightofRight: yeah I see what you mean… i feel like the bad guy here, talking about how everything sucks and all. i mean, nobody wants to hear _that_.

SugarPluM: maybe all the bad stuff is part of life's goodness

TheKnightoRight: AHHHH Stop right there, i can't stand hearing that

SugarPLuM: why not?

SugarPluM: because when you say that it's saying that we should just learn to live with it. and how can suffering be labeled as a part of life's beauty? i never wanted to live with this

Cyborg had already sent his reply before he was aware of what he wrote. He had accidentally wrote what he was really feeling.

SugarPluM: live with what?

TheKnightofRight: nothing

TheKnightofRight: there are times when I see the stars and I see so many dreams and hopes, things that I wish would be true. but it seems like life has set them up there just so that I could see what i can't have

SugarPluM: Knight, maybe the things that you wish to be true _are_ true. That's like looking at the stars, and saying that you wished they existed. They're staring you in the eyes, they twinkle for you every night and every day. But it's up to you to decide if you see them all.

SugarPluM: if you don't believe in the miracles of life, then i ask you to try this little experiment.  
tonight, before you go to sleep, take your pillow and examine it's insides.

TheKnightofRight: what exactly is this supposed to teach me

SugarPluM: it's not supposed to "teach" you anything, it's just supposed to… show you what I see

TheKnightofRight: ok then, I'll do it.

SugarPluM: man I should really go to sleep, it's been a really long night

TheKnightofRight: that's what she said!

SugarPluM: rofl, it's always fun to play these games with you. i feel so naughty though. don't tell anyone :)

Cyborg beamed with pleasure. He felt glad to make someone else happy.

TheKnightofRight: that's also what she said!

This last "that's what she said" sent SugarPluM into a minute of laughing.

SugarPluM: you are really something! :P

TheKnightofRight: all right, all right =D

SugarPluM: c u theKnight

TheKnightofRight: bye

_***Later***_

Cyborg rubbed his eyes and paced around his room, he put Starfire's sketch book on a table. He would return it the ne- er, this morning. He logged on his computer to check important matters. His mind repeated the previous events of the day.

He stood tall over the computers of his room, leaning forward and clicking and typing.  
How tired he was… he thought about how great it would be to lay his head on a soft, comfy pillow. He turned around to look at it and remembered SugarPluM's words.

About 5 hours later, (it was actually 3 minutes later but it felt like 5 to Cyborg), he went and stood in front of his pillow and looked down on it. With two hands he gripped the bottom of the pillow and ripped it open.

And out came hundreds of blue, light pink, and yellow feathers.

He looked at them as they swayed around and fell on his bed. It seemed as if they were actually playing with his mind, telling him that SugarPluM was right. He had many thoughts at this moment.

How the heck did these feathers get in my pillow?

How come he knew there would be feathers in my pillow?

There must be at least a thousand feathers in total.

What is this feeling I'm getting?

I just ripped my own pillow.

Where are am I gonna put them?

But above all, he had a strange feeling of joy and peace.

**A/N: Sigh. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of controversy for this story because of all he "that's what she said's". I couldn't help but including them. They're considered to be immature… *looks down embarrassed***

**I have so much ideas for this story, and these ideas increase when I listen to music. But I don't always listen to the same thing, so the story is shooting off everywhere because the songs are blowing my imagination everywhere.  
It's hard sometimes because I'm trying to push the story in a certain direction but things change.  
This chapter was ridiculously terrible. Anyone can tell that the author's trying to speak through the story so badly that it's all just turning out to be a mess. For goodness sake's, he's even edited A/N's.  
I see something in my mind, and I try to write it down. But I think that's the problem, because it's hard to show what I see using words. And even if I did, I would have to make sure you felt exactly what I felt when I was imagining the story. That would mean playing a certain song to you to set the mood and the feeling. But everyone is a different person, with their own experiences and view on everything. So I think what I'm trying to do is almost impossible. Which is why Cyborg will invent the _ in the future. I might explain later if the story continues. **

**Before the end of 2010, we are trying to reach a goal of 500,000 reviews. Our employees are sitting at their desks waiting for your opinions. Please review now. If you hated this chapter or the story in general then don't be afraid of flaming it. Just be honest and tell me why you hated it and why it sucked.  
Thanks for reviewing Paramore7. Ha! I just found out Paramore's an artist. (few weeks ago)**


End file.
